Following my previous blog post, I have a little catching up to do in terms of book reviews. Please forgive me because a few of my upcoming reviews may be a little brief compared to the usual ones I post because they have not all been written immediately after finishing the book like I’ve done in the past.
Today’s book review is on You Were Here* by Cori McCarthy. Due to it being nearly two months ago that I actually read this book, I’ve decided that it would be more beneficial for you if I pasted the overview of this book from Goodreads, rather than writing my own:
Jaycee is dealing with her brother’s death the only way she can by re-creating Jake’s daredevil stunts. The ones that got him killed. She’s not crazy, okay? She just doesn’t have a whole lot of respect for staying alive.
Jaycee doesn’t expect to have help on her insane quest to remember Jake. But she’s joined by a group of unlikely friends all with their own reasons for completing the dares and their own brand of dysfunction: the uptight, ex-best friend, the heartbroken poet, the slacker with Peter Pan syndrome, and… Mik. He doesn’t talk, but somehow still challenges Jayce to do the unthinkable-reveal the parts of herself that she buried with her brother.
I have mixed feelings on this book.
Firstly, the characters; I didn’t particularly like any of them. I didn’t find them very likeable, but at the same time I felt like they were pretty well written, especially considering the different themes the novel deals with. As a result of this though, I felt no kind of emotional connection with anyone and didn’t particularly care what happened to the characters.
Secondly, the plot; it was quite slow and uninteresting. However, at the same time, it was quite easy to read so I didn’t mind reading it. Thanks to this, it was also an easy enough read to get me through my hour long lunch breaks at work.
Format; I really liked how we got to see from all the characters perspectives – honestly, I don’t think I could have read the whole book if it was all in Jaycee’s perspective – and I especially liked how the structure varied as with Bishop and Mik’s characters instead of a load of text to read, their thoughts and feelings were depicted more visually through a more arty medium.
Overall, this book was okay and I have rated it 2/5.
Have you read this book? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it below!
-driftinglexi
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*I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley to read and review, giving my honest and unbiased opinion.
driftinglexi 